Hamilton teacher remembered for dedication

Wednesday

Dec 4, 2013 at 4:19 PMDec 4, 2013 at 6:06 PM

By Jim.Hayden@hollandsentinel.com(616) 546-4274

Hamilton High School Principal Doug Braschler was told there was a crash on M-40 in Holland on Wednesday morning. A key teacher was missing from the early morning staff meeting at the school.Braschler drove out to the scene about 6 miles north of the school to find out government teacher Joshua Hoppe, of Zeeland, had died in the collision with a tractor-trailer near a truck stop at 4630 Lincoln Road, also known as M-40, about 6:19 a.m.“He loved to teach. Teaching was a job. It was a passion of his,” Braschler said later that day in an emotional press conference.Hoppe was in his sixth year of teaching at Hamilton Community Schools. He also coached freshman baseball and junior varsity football.“This is a huge loss for the community, staff and students,” said Superintendent David Tebo.Hoppe, 30, was southbound on M-40 in a 2009 Ford Fusion when a 2014 Kenworth truck and trailer driven by David St. John, 54, of Wellston, pulled out of a driveway of a truck stop into the path of Hoppe’s vehicle, according to the Holland Department of Public Safety.Hoppe was pinned in the vehicle and died of multiple injuries, according to police. The truck driver was not injured.The busy road between Holland, Hamilton and Allegan was closed for almost four hours.A dense fog advisory was in effect for Allegan and Ottawa counties, but police have not said if weather was a factor in the crash.In 2007, Curtis Boeve and his two children died from injuries suffered in a Jan. 15 crash at the same location. Residents then presented the city of Holland with an online petition with more than 2,800 signatures asking for improvements on the road.A similar effort is underway after Wednesday's crash and organizers plan to attend the Dec. 18 city council meeting to ask for improvements on the road.The Michigan Department of Transportation, however, says the area has had those two fatal crashes and seven overall since 2004 and does not meet the threshold for a traffic signal.“This is not a matter of not wanting to spend the money,” said Nick Schirripa, MDOT communications representative. “That stretch of M-40 is not unfamiliar to us. We understand what’s going on. We get it.”MDOT conducted two safety studies after the 2007 fatal crash, and a third was conducted by a private consultant in 2011, Schirripa said. All came to the same conclusion that the area does not meet the requirement of traffic flow, volume and other factors for a traffic signal, he said.A traffic signal could create safety issues as well, he added, and increase the number of crashes.In Hamilton today, though, talk was about how to help Hoppe’s family, coworkers and students handle the devastating loss.“The most important thing is that this is the best community to come around in an event like this,” said Tebo.A crisis team was in place to help Hamilton High staff and students. Students were allowed to go home early with their parents.“Today, we’re not going to do school,” Tebo said he told the students. “Today, we’re going to pick each other up.”Alyssa Slayton attended Hamilton High School and recalled Hoppe’s dedication in a letter to the editor that encouraged area residents to attend the upcoming city council meeting to address M-40 safety concerns.“He was a constant at our school, impressing his positive, hard-working spirit not only on his students and athletes, but also anyone who happened to pass his classroom door in the hallway,” she wrote. “The immensity of this loss to our community is apparent. ... Future students will never have the opportunity to learn from Mr. Hoppe in the way that we did.”Hoppe worked to give students hope and understanding of how government works.“Carry on the legacy for Mr. Hoppe — go vote, be active,” Braschler said.Hoppe is survived by his wife, sister, brother and other family members, according to school officials. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.— Staff members Jim Timmermann, Dennis R.J. Geppert, Lisa Ermak and Annette Manwell contributed to this report.